Numbers 35

1And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,

2Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them.

3And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

4And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.

5And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.

6And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.footnote a

7So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs.

8And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.footnote b

9And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

10Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan;

11Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.footnote c

12And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment.

13And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge.

14Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge.

15These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.

16And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

17And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.footnote d

18Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

19The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.

20But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die;

21Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.

22But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait,

23Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:

24Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments:

25And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.

26But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled;

27And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:footnote e

28Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

29So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

30Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.

31Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.footnote f

32And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

33So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.footnote g

34Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.

Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites

1Again the LORD spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho: 2“Command the Israelites to give, from the inheritance they will possess, cities for the Levites to live in and pasturelands around the cities. 3The cities will be for them to live in, and the pasturelands will be for their herds, their flocks, and all their other livestock.

4The pasturelands around the cities you are to give the Levites will extend a thousand cubitsfootnote a from the wall on every side. 5You are also to measure two thousand cubitsfootnote b outside the city on the east, two thousand on the south, two thousand on the west, and two thousand on the north, with the city in the center. These areas will serve as larger pasturelands for the cities.

6Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. In addition to these, give the Levites forty-two other cities. 7The total number of cities you give the Levites will be forty-eight, with their corresponding pasturelands. 8The cities that you apportion from the territory of the Israelites should be given to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one.”

Six Cities of Refuge

9Then the LORD said to Moses, 10“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there. 12You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.

13The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge. 14Select three cities across the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan as cities of refuge. 15These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

16If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. 17Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. 18If anyone has in his hand a deadly object of wood, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

19The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.

20Likewise, if anyone maliciously pushes another or intentionally throws an object at him and kills him, 21or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds the murderer, he is to kill him.

22But if anyone pushes a person suddenly, without hostility, or throws an object at him unintentionally, 23or without looking drops a heavy stone that kills him, but he was not an enemy and did not intend to harm him, 24then the congregation must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. 25The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

26But if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled 27and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed, 28because the manslayer must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may he return to the land he owns. 29This will be a statutory ordinance for you for the generations to come, wherever you live.

30If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness.

31You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death. 32Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.

33Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.”